ADAR1 is known to be involved in the replication of various viruses, including hepatitis C and D. However, the role of ADAR1 in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has not yet been elucidated.
Overall, our results demonstrate that ADAR1 regulates innate immune signaling and is an important contributor to the outcome of the HCV virus-host interaction.
We used a biotinylated RNA pulldown approach to isolate host factors binding to the HCV 5' terminal 47 nucleotides and, in addition to Ago2 and PCBP2, identified several novel proteins, including IGF2BP1, hnRNP L, DHX9, ADAR1, and NF90 (ILF3).
We examined myxovirus resistance-A (MxA), RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR), 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase (2,5-OAS), and adenosine deaminase-1 (ADAR1) gene expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 31 black and 11 white HCV genotype 1 patients at baseline and at weeks 4-12 during PEG-IFN alfa-2a combination treatment.
This is the first report of ADAR's involvement in a potent antiviral pathway and its action to specifically eliminate HCV RNA through adenosine to inosine editing.